Thick drinks make you feel full

Even if they have the same calorific value as thin drinks, thick drinks make people feel fuller and suppress their appetite for longer, according to a study in the journal Flavour.

While creaminess also boosted expectations of satiety, it did so to a lesser extent than thickness.

The results suggest manipulating texture and creaminess can increase expectations that a fruit yogurt drink will be filling and suppress hunger, irrespective of the energy content.

While soft drinks, coffee, and other “liquid calories" add a substantial proportion of total daily energy intake in Western countries, they don’t feel like calories, don’t suppress appetite enough or replace other food intake, the study found.

The researcher says hunger and fullness are complicated issues because it is not just the calories in a food or drink that make it filling. Signals from the stomach are important but so too is how the drink feels in the mouth.